Package for wet napkin

ABSTRACT

Dispensable package for napkins which is made of foil in a number of layers which are bent around to form a cylindrical tube held together by means of a longitudinal seal, there being at the end of the tube a plane seal and at the opposite end of the tube a fixed separate end-seal.

United States Patent Welin-Berger July 1, 1975 PACKAGE FOR WET NAPKIN 2,574,710 ll/l951 Rodgers 206/8 l 2 4 W'll' n 2 [76} Inventor: John Henrik Guy Welin-Berger, Box I 06/812 9063 Orsundsbm Sweden Primary Examiner-William l. Price [22] Filed: Mar. 27, 1972 Assistant Examiner-Douglas B. Farrow Attorney, Agent, or FirmSughrue, Rothwell, Mion, [21] Appl. No.. 238,265 Zinn & cp

[52] US. Cl. 206/210; 206/229; 206/361;

206/8 [2; 229/45; 229/51 TS [57] ABSTRACT 5 [1 Int. Cl 865d 3/00; B65d 5/54 Dispensable Package for napkins which is made of foil 5 Field f Search 20 312 210 229 3 1; in a number bflayers which are bent around to form 21 229/45 cylindrical tube held tagether by means of a longitudinal seal, there being at the end of the tube a plane seal [5 References Ci and at the opposite end of the tube a fixed separate UNITED STATES PATENTS H890 Arnold 229/45 end-seal.

2 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure 1 PACKAGE FOR WET NAPKIN The invention relates to a device for storage of wet napkins treated with fluid, ointment, powder or the like, preferentially for medical use.

Commercially available wet napkins, packed in heatsealed envelopes of airtight foil, have come into wide use. They usually contain a faintly perfumed disinfectant fluid intended for washing of hands, face etc., and offer the advantage of an easily accessible napkin which can be carried on journeys etc. They have certain disadvantages, however. For elderly, sick or weak persons, for example hospital patients, the existing forms of package have proved to be difficult to open as the package material is often tough. An attempt to solve this problem has been made by means of a tear notch, for example in the form of a V-shaped, groove in the edge, but this has nevertheless not proved fully satisfactory.

The flat envelope, furthermore, requires unnecessarily much material. The material for the outer envelope is usually the most costly component, as it consists of several layers laminated together to offer a hermetic seal for the wet napkin. The package is also heat-sealed along its circumference to ensure the necessary airtightness, which means that some material must be left outside the seal. In its conventional form, therefore, the package is unnecessarily expensive.

From the space point of view the flat envelope is unpractical as the fairly wide plane seals round the circumference require unnecessarily much space. It has also proved that, apart from fluid and wet napkin, the package contains a certain quantity of air, which reduces the possibility of a compact package.

For the application of certain medicaments in the form of fluid, ointment or powder to the skin, for example, it is desirable that the patient should do this himself, but often the hospital staff must apply the fluid etc. to the skin by suitable means. After repeated contact with the skin certain medicaments have proved to have a sensitizing effect, and it is therefore important that hospital staff should be able to apply such medicaments in a simple and cheap manner without direct contact between the medicament and their skin and, if possible, without using extra compresses, spatulas, tweezers, or the like.

After a conventional plane package has been opened, the napkin is removed by hand for use. For hospital staff this involves repeated contact with medicament, for example, which may have an undesirable effect on the skin. It has also been found that the conventional plane package has sometimes been troublesome to fold out as, being soaked in fluid, the folds of the napkin are liable to stick together.

As packages of this conventional kind have no stability, they cannot be used as applicator when the fluid in the wet napkin is to be applied to a part of the body. For this reason the desire has been expressed that the package should contain a stiffener in the form, for example, of a pin or rod to give it some rigidity so that, when opened, it can be more easily handled when used as applicator.

The present invention has as its object to eliminate the aforesaid drawbacks and consists of a package for wet napkins treated with fluid, ointment, powder or the like. The invention is characterized essentially in that the package is formed as a cylindrical or slightly conical, round, or slightly flattened tube. In one end of the tube where applicable, the end with the smallest cross-sectional area is attached a base, preferably consisting of a fairly rigid plastic, to give the package an adequate mechanical stability and to prevent it from being crushed. The other end of the tube has a plane seal, so that the contents are hermetically enclosed in the tube, which is thus sealed at both ends.

This compact design of the package in the form of a cylinder results in a saving of material of up to percent in relation to conventional packages. Part of the saving of material is due to elimination of the heatsealed edges of the conventional plane envelope; according to the invention a mere overlap of about 2-3 mm in the longitudinal seam is required for satisfactory airtightness.

The saving of space is considerable and practical trials have shown that the package according to the invention requires only about half the space compared with that required for the plane envelope.

According to the invention, at a given distance from one end of the package there is a perforation extending round the package, which makes it easy to open. After breaking of the perforation and removal of the so released part of the package. the contents are easily accessible. To prevent leakage through the perforation during distribution and storage of packages, a hermetically applied sheet or tape here called tear-tape can suitably be arranged over the perforation so as to provide a liquidtight seal.

According to an advantageous further development of the invention the napkin is so dimensioned that, when folded, it extends about 5-l0 mm above the tearing edge. After removal of the top, accordingly, the napkin is sufficiently exposed to allow it to be used for application of the ointment, fluid, powder or the like with which the napkin is impregnated, the remainder of the cylinder being used as a handle, which, if necessary, can be slightly compressed.

It is thus possible to use the proposed package both as a new type of wet napkin package and as an application package; in the latter case the impregnated napkin can remain in the cylinder after opening of the package and the cylinder can be used as handle and protection against manual contact.

Before the napkin is inserted in a package according to the invention, it must be rolled or folded in concertina form. In both cases practical trials have shown that the napkin is considerably easier to unfold than conventionally packaged napkins of these kinds.

According to one embodiment of the invention a suitably formed rod of wood, plastic or similar fairly stiff material is placed in the package to fulfill a practical function in cleaning of a wound, for example, as a complement to the napkin itself. Alternatively the rod can be given the form of a toothpick or of a cotton swab-stick which, in combination with the napkin, can also serve a practical function.

The manufacture of conventional wet napkins is done in fairly complicated and expensive packaging machines. Consider-ably simpler and cheaper machines can be used for manufacture of packages according to the invention, which further contributes to a reduction of the manufacturing costs.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawing.

* The FlGURE shows a tube with base according to the invention, consisting of a tubular portion 1, formed by roiling of a plane sheet, for example of plastic, and longitudinally sealed with a weld or the like, not shown in the drawing, in such a way that the tubular portion 1 is slightly conical. It is advisable to reinforce the weld with a plastic tape or the like. In one end is attached a base 7 and at the other end is a plane seal 8. To facilitate opening of the package it has a perforation 4 extending round the tube 1 at a given distance from one end 8. Toensure liquidtightness it is advisable to cover this perforation 4 with a tape 5 which can easily be torn off.

A napkin 2, suitably rolled or folded in zigzag form, is inserted in the package before the base l is attached. After tearing ofi" the tape 5 and breaking the perforation 4 the napkin 2 is easily accessible. To give the package additional rigidity, a small pin.6 can be placed in the centre of the napkin 2. On this pin can be placed a cotton swab or the like, not shown in the drawing, for example for cleaning of a wound.

The base 7 may be entirely circular but can advantageously be made slightly elliptical, whereby the tube assumes a somewhat flattened shape, which facilitates sealing of the tube after the desired napkin and substance have been inserted in it.

Although the invention has been described with reference to one of its embodiments, it can nevertheless be arbitrarily varied within the scope of the subsequent claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A package for disposable wet napkins comprising: a foil of generally tubular shape, circular in section, the foil having a longitudinal seal along a side of the tubular shape and a plane seal at one end, a cylindrical rigid insertable seal at the other end of the tubular foil, a rod of rigid material inside the package capable of functioning as a swab, and a disposable wet napkin formed into a cylindrical configuration within the tubular foil.

2. A package for. disposable wet napkins as in claim 1 further comprising perforations extending circumferentially around the wall of the tubular foil and a tear strip over the perforations. 

1. A package for disposable wet napkins comprising: a foil of generally tubular shape, circular in section, the foil having a longitudinal seal along a side of the tubular shape and a plane seal at one end, a cylindrical rigid insertable seal at the other end of the tubular foil, a rod of rigid material inside the package capable of functioning as a swab, and a disposable wet napkin formed into a cylindrical configuration within the tubular foil.
 2. A package for disposable wet napkins as in claim 1 further comprising perforations extending circumferentially around the wall of the tubular foil and a tear strip over the perforations. 